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However, women of the same rank didn’t seem to have difficulty in working together and mixed-sex collaborations were also common.

In other words, the problem arises in situations in which one female is more powerful than the other.

Writing in the journal Current Biology, the researchers said the lack of trust may come from both directions.

U.S. researchers said that men may be wired to put their differences aside in order to form alliances. Women, however, are most comfortable with people who are on the same level as them. Consequently they believe many women prefer to work with a male boss (pictured)

AND HORRIBLE BOSSES ARE BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH...

Working for a difficult boss can come with stress, long hours and a poor office atmosphere.

Recent research has found it can also be bad for your health.

The stress of working for a bad boss over a long period of time can cause serious harm to employees, the study found.

Scientists at Ohio State University found that chronic stress causes changes in the gene activity in immune cells.

These changes cause the cells to be primed to fight an infection that doesn't exist.

This leads to inflammation in the body which is associated with many health problems, including heart disease and diabetes.

They said: ‘The study does not demonstrate whether the reduced level of co-operation among women if different status is due to higher-ranked or lower-ranked women.

‘However, our findings are consistent with results from early childhood onwards suggesting that females of lower status can be uncomfortable co-operating with their superiors.

‘Female superiors may also be less willing than male superiors to invest in lower-ranked same-sex individuals.’

Others say that while men make their feelings clear, women are more likely to let jealousies and resentments fester.

Harvard University researcher Joyce Benenson, one of the study’s authors, said that women’s instinctive distrust of females in power may make it more difficult for them to scale the career ladder.

She said: ‘Females are less likely than males to co-operate across ranks with same-sex individuals.

‘This means that a highly talented newcomer female in any organisation does not receive the support that her male counterpart does from higher-ranked individuals who can help them climb the hierarchy.’

Even having a male boss may not be a huge help.

Professor Benenson said: ‘Because men often discriminate against women, it is unclear whether higher-ranked males could be more helpful.’